Warner opens vault, dusts off oldies for DVD, digital sale

Amid tough economic times and the continued decline of DVD sales, Warner Bros. is digging into its vast vault with the hope of boosting sales. Between made-to-order DVDs and digital downloads, the studio hopes that consumers shell out for films that have never graced modern formats.

Available now at WarnerArchive.com are 150 previously archived films, ranging from 1926's Exit Smiling to 1951's Painting the Clouds with Sunshine. Most films are available as $19.95 made-to-order DVDs, while a handful can be downloaded in what is presumably PlaysForSure DRM for $14.95. Downloadable films are only compatible with Windows XP and Vista, requiring Windows Media Player 10 or 11. For an interesting twist, Warner not only plans to release 20 more films to the program each month, but it is allowing consumers to vote on which films should be brought out of the vault.

Warner's move comes as the studios face declining DVD sales as well as a shift towards physical distribution to digital. As retailers keep slashing DVD prices and studies recommend that simultaneous release may be the way out (or not), Warner is trying to take advantage of the long tail with movies that aren't likely to be seen outside of the classic movie channels.

Warner seems to be on to something, but this new endeavor faces a couple of challenges. The prices it's charging for these classic films may turn some would-be customers off. The studio is also hamstringing itself by excluding digital outlets, such as Amazon's rekindled Video on Demand service and the iTunes Store, from its distribution plans. Still, the fact that none of these films have seen the light of day on current media may play into Warner's hands. The Time Warner Inc. subsidiary also has another roughly 5,000 unreleased feature films in its library with which to dabble in new forms of distribution.